MORE than £45,000 has so far been raised in an effort to save a village pub from closure.

The White Hart Inn at St Dogmaels will close on May 5 and a campaign has been launched to turn it into a community-run asset, funded y a community share issue and peer-to-peer lending.

A third public meeting was held recently where around 60 people turned up to hear of the latest progress and to put forward suggestions and ideas of their own.

The newly-formed committee told the meeting that £39,000 had been raised in the month since the project's launch - though after the meeting further pledges took that to more than £45,000.

Committee chairman Jo Pitt said: "The pub is 250 years old this year and has a wealth of history behind it. It is so important that we recognise and preserve that history within the community.

"There is better local engagement in a community where there is a village pub. It also boosts tourism and offers a reason why people might chose to live in a certain area. It is part and parcel of a thriving community."

The meeting was told that the committee was in the process of being registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and was looking at all options to raise funds towards the £270,000 purchase price of the White Hart.

A business survey has been undertaken and villagers throughout St Dogmaels have been leafletted to tell them about the plans to turn it into a community inn.

Cllr Cris Tomos - who through his work with PLANED was involved in the successful campaign to save the Tafarn Sinc from closure told the meeting about the SEIS scheme (small enterprise investment scheme with HMRC) which the committee hope to clinch as this has been done by other pub groups.

This would allow tax-payers to claim back 50 per cent of their investment but that is only for the first £150k of investment - therefore a big incentive for people to support at this early stage.